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The Mom Challenge: Week 35 – How to Raise Creative Kids

May 15, 2014

Welcome to week 35 of The Mom Challenge!! If you are new, please know that you can jump in at anytime!! Check out all of our previous weeks here.

This week we are talking about how to raise creative kids this week. I think being creative is so important! Now, we aren’t talking about raising your child to be a musical prodigy (well, they could be!) or the artist of our time (it could happen!) but being creative leads to being good problem solvers! That ability to think outside the box will serve your child well through adulthood! And it’s something that can be learned! So here are ten ways to keep the creativity flowing in your house!

1. Ask “Why?” and “What if…” Questions

Kids ask a lot of questions! In fact, one study said that kids ask 300 questions a day! I know that it’s hard when you are asked 300 questions, but encourage your children to ask questions! You are never going to learn about things if you don’t ask questions! Even as an adult, I ask a lot of questions. (I blame my Mother who, also, asks a lot of questions!) I promise I don’t ask 300 a day, but if I’m ever curious about something – I ask! People are generally happy to teach and pass along what they know.

What if questions are my favorite. Josh asks a TON of what if’s. Some people will say “Stop with the what if’s! It’s not even possible!” but I say “Bring them on!!” When he asks things like “What if a monster came for dinner?” or “What if you were driving and it literally started raining cats and dogs?” I love it! It means that he is thinking! And when he asks silly questions, it means he is using his imagination to create those silly questions!

2. Answer Those Questions!

So now your kids are asking a ton of questions. It’s so important to answer them! Answering their questions shows that no question is a bad question. Plus, you are helping your child learn!

If your child asks a silly what-if question – answer them back with a silly answer! Not only is it fun, but this keeps the imagination going! Then, they have to tell the next part of the story!

If you don’t know the answer, don’t feel embarrassed! It’s ok! And actually, it’s good! It shows that no one knows everything and that we all, even as adults, still have more to learn about the world. Go ahead and tell your child that you don’t know. But make sure to make time to find out together the answer. This is a great way to show children how to search for answers! Plus, it’s great mom time to learn together!

If you find your child asking a lot of questions on a specific topic, it’s a great way to take your learning to another level! Visit the library, do a quick Google search or visit a museum! Get your child involved! It may help them discover a new passion.

I used to teach pre-school and one thing that some teachers did that drove me absolutely crazy was that they would ‘close’ centers or keep the art supplies up high where kids couldn’t use them. If you would ask why they had a good reason – it gets messy. But that’s not a good enough reason! Who cares if the kids drag every.single.piece of dress up clothing out? And seriously, wiping down the paint table takes just a few minutes! Giving kids easy access to ways to pretend and create is SO important in fostering creativity! Encourage children to play! Even if that means there is a mess! (And then, encourage them to help!)

5. Be Open Minded

A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook page and it made me laugh. Been there! But I try REALLY hard NOT to! So what that they Lego set they are using is to build a pirate ship and they chose to build a space ship? Give your children the tools and let them create!

One thing I learned while teaching is not to ask children what they made? (Who wants to work hard on a project just to have no one be able to recognize it?) Instead, ask them to tell you about their project!

6. It’s OK to Try

If they are trying do something and it turns out not to work or work like they should just remind them that it is ok! It doesn’t mean you failed – it means you succeeded in finding a way that it doesn’t work! Ask them questions to help guide to what could be fixed and to help brainstorm ideas that might work.

7. Keep A Stress Free Environment

This is important just for overall health in general! Stress is no fun. Nothing kills the creative mind like stress! If your child is painting try not to say, “Are you done yet? Are you almost done?” I understand and am all for time restraints! But make sure your child has enough time! Don’t rush them through their work! I wouldn’t want to be rushed either! While they are complaining try to keep your grumbles about noise and mess to yourself (unless things get out of control!) As long as kids help clean up their mess and aren’t crazy and disturbing the neighbors (or you on the phone!) let them play. Let them be kids! If you find your kids (or yourself!) getting stressed – go for a walk, take a nap or my favorite….

8. READ!

Reading is SO good! Good for the mind! Good for relaxing. Good for learning. Good for creativity. Good for bonding. Good for everything! Read to your child! Everyday! When they are older make sure they have a reading time. Books are so powerful!

9. Cook Together

Cooking is another great bonding time. It’s a fun process that kids can do and make something seriously delicious (or, well, not! We’ve made those too!) When kids get older it’s a great way to turn it into a chemistry lesson! And even better, when they get older they may turn into a great chef and make you deliciously awesome meals! :)

10. Model a Creative Lifestyle

Showing your children that creativity is important to you is a great way for them to grow up with it being important to them. I’m not saying you need to be creating a mural in your living room, but if painting is your thing do it! If gardening is your peace go for it! If you love to read, make the time! And not only while the kids are asleep! Let them see that you enjoy giving your mind an exercise! Be a role model!

Beautiful post, it really is so important to encourage creativity from kids. My parents always encouraged it in my siblings and me. They were our biggest cheerleaders. I am sharing this post with all my friends who have kids!!

Love this post! I’ve always been partial to toys that let you do your own thing. I also don’t mind if my little one makes a huge mess or uses his swing to launch toys into outer space etc :) They grow up so fast; it’s really important to embrace them and the moments that we share together. I love the funny stuff he comes up with lol. He’s starting to ask questions and it’s interesting to see how he looks at things vs how we look at the same things, as adults. It would be cool if I could be “kid me” for a day to play with “kid him” <3

For me it is about raising my son in a conscious manner. paying attention to what is going on in his world. Not just drifting along life. I think that makes all the difference in my parenting style, and i am achieving the relationship I want with my son. Thanks for this reminder!
Mitch

I must be a great mom – our house always has toys everywhere by mid-morning, lol. I never mind the mess but it does have to be cleaned up before bed – I hate stepping on legos at 3am! I do however keep the paint up high. Sorry but after trying to clean it out of the carpet and then replacing said carpet because it did not come out – paint needs to be up where someone can not sneak it out while you grab a quick shower!

These are all wonderful tips! My daughter is super creative, and it’s probably because I do some of the things that you listed here ;) I love giving her multi-purpose items for open-ended play. She comes up with some pretty fun games!

I actually like the questions sometimes to foster my own creativity as well. So when my son asks why the cat smacked the dog with his paw, I can answer something ridiculous like, “because the dog borrowed his tangerine socks and hasn’t returned them.” :)

Oh yea. We also encourage our kids to talk. It is more difficult in my specie education classes but we try our best to give all the answers we can. It is important and one of the best ways a kid learns.

When my kids were younger we used to do more of this stuff together. I remember all the ‘why, but why, why now’ questions that would drive me a little crazy. Now that they are older they do more stuff on their own. I miss cooking with them and having them help me more. This summer I’m making it our goal to make fun crafts and projects at home weekly to spend quality time together and have less technology time.

Open ended and creatively play is so important. You are right on about letting them ask those questions and then being available to answer them. I have a very creative little boy in our house and he is constantly asking questions. Sometimes it is hard not to become frustrated… I have to remind myself that he is learning.

My kids are adults now but one of my regrets is not encouraging and coming up with ideas to get my sons more involved with helping out with meal preparation and baking. They were definitely “all boy” back then but I still wish I would have spent some time with them in the kitchen.

This is a great topic. My son is incredibly creative, but I realized along the way that my fast-paced way of life doesn’t do anything to help him cultivate his talents. My biggest challenge is slowing down so he has time to just BE, and answering ALL of his million questions with patience.

My mom raised my sister and I to be very creative kids. Even in the high chair she would put paint in front of us and let us finger paint ON the high chair. She was always doing arts and crafts with us and I attribute my creative and crafty nature as an adult to her :)

Those open ended toys are such a great way for kids to express their creativity. I like to play with polymer clay, and when my kids see me creating something beautiful out of it, they always want to jump right in and give it a go too!